The early season schedule is perhaps the most important factor for a good start.
The past couple years the Jazz received a beat down in their schedule; tons of back to backs, road games and playoff-worthy opponents. And, consequently, the Jazz struggled early. It’s tough to play good basketball when you’re sleeping in a different hotel every night for a week straight. It’s tough to be on the same page as your team when you haven’t had an official practice all week.
According to ESPN, the Jazz had the highest strength of schedule in 2017-18, and in December of 2018, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune had this to say:
"“It’s true, the Jazz have had a very difficult start to the season. Not only have the Jazz played the hardest schedule in the league in terms of the strength of their opponents according to ESPN, they’ve also played more road games (19) than any other team.”"
But, fortunately for the Jazz, 2019-20 schedule should be much more favorable. According to Ben Dowsett of the Forbes, the Jazz will have an easier start to the season as far as back to backs.
"“The Jazz are tied for the NBA league-low in back-to-back games with just 11 for the entire season, and only four of those come before mid-January. They should theoretically have plenty of time to work in several new roster pieces and establish a rotation and chemistry while the day-to-day schedule isn’t too grueling.”"
When looking at who the Jazz will play in the first half of the season, it looks like they will face 17 playoff-worthy opponents in their first 41 games. On top of that, they will face eight teams that are on the playoff bubble and will be hungry for wins.
In theory, that combines for 25 games with tough opponents and 16 games with easy opponents. Now, this is only in theory — I realize no opponent in the NBA is a guaranteed win for anyone. In the ups and downs of an 82 game season, the best team will occasionally lose to a bottom-feeder.
That looks like a tough schedule that will make it a challenge to start out 27-14, but it also presents an opportunity for the Jazz to prove they are a legit title contender. Think about it- if the Jazz truly are one of the best in the league, they should be able to beat most playoff-worthy opponents.
I’m thinking the Jazz will start out strong this year. Even though they face tough teams early including the L.A Clippers three times, the lack of back to backs really will make a difference. Not only that, but the Clippers won’t have Paul George early on in the season, the Trail Blazers won’t have Jusuf Nurkic, and the Warriors won’t have Klay Thompson. Those players will be on the mend from surgeries.
I predict the Jazz will sit at 28-13 on January 17th, well poised for a great stretch run and possible top seed in the loaded western conference.
It’s a good time to be a Jazz fan, and make sure you get your popcorn ready early, because the Jazz will storm out of the gates strong this year.
*All stats a courtesy of basketballreference.com and espn.com